Butternut squash with sauteed onion

This is a classic recipe my mom taught me. It's absolutely delicious, simple, and uses the best ingredients: fresh ones.

I made this for TWiCS (Truman Women in Computer Science) club pot luck, and it got good reviews.



Butternut squash with sauteed onion
Ingredients:
1 medium-sized butternut squash
1 small-medium white onion
1/2 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
2 T butter, divided

Instructions:
1. If you have a steamer, place 2 inches of water in the bottom and set to high heat. If you don't have a steamer, you can make a make-shift one by placing a colander into a large pot, so that the colander is 2 inches or more off the bottom of the pan. In this case, place 2 inches of water into bottom of pan, and set on high heat. (Note: make sure you have a lid or lid-substitute, like a plate, for the pan)
2. Peel and dice (into large, even chunks) the butternut squash.
3. Once the water is boiling, turn the heat down to medium heat, place butternut squash into steamer or colander, place lid over, and steam. (10 minutes for steamer, 15 for make-shift steamer)
4. While squash is steaming, place 1 T of the butter in a skillet, and set to medium heat.
5. Peel and dice onion.
6. Place onion into skillet, add salt, and saute for remaining time that squash needs to steam (or more if you desire carmalized onions)
7. Place squash into a large bowl, and mash. Then, place onions, pepper, and last 1 T of butter into bowl, and stir together until butter is melted and pepper is evenly distributed.

Optional: you can add spices to this. For example, for a sweet potato casserole subsitute, you can leave out the pepper and onion, put half as much salt in, and add sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Or, you can add savory spices like fresh, dried, or fried basil and/or sage. You could also give it an Indian food feel by adding curry powder and caraway seeds. The options are endless! This is just the basic, stand-alone recipe that I have come to know and love.